Can body blank folding apparatus with yieldable knee joint for actuating the folder



Nov. 8, 1949 P. E PEARSON ET AL 2,437,365

CAN BODY BLANK FOLDING APPARATUS WITH YIELDABLE KNEE JOINT FOR ACTUATING THE FOLDER Original Filed July 24, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet l Ralph M Mew ill 5 duo: "M 6 Nov. 8, 1949 P. E. PEARSON ET AL 2,487,365

CAN BODY BLANK FOLDING APPARATUS'WITH YIELDABLE KNEE JOINT FOR ACTUATING THE FOLDER Original Filed July 24, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 :JYWW jaul E. Pearson Walph M. Mam.

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Nov. 8, 1949 P. E. P RSON ET AL 2,487,365

CAN BODY BLANK FOLD APPARATUS WITH YIELDABLE KNEE JOINT FOR ACTUATING THE FOLDER Original Filed July 24, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS .PauZEPears 0 72,

Patented Nov. 8, 1949 CAN BODY BLANK FOLDING APPARATUS WITH YIELDABLE KNEE JOINT FOR AC- TUATING THE FOLDER,

Paul E. Pearson, New York, N. Y., and Ralph M. Mero, Chicago, Ill., assignors to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N. 11, a pornoration of New York Original application July 24, 1942, Serial *No.

452,216, now Patent No. 2,429,169, dated Octoher 14, 1947. Divided and this application July 6, 1945, SerialNo. 603,548

2 Claims.

The invention relates generally to the art of manufacturing metallic containers and primarily seeks to provide certain new and useful improvements in the apparatus employed in can body makers for folding the blanks about the horn at the body forming station. This application has been divided "out of the copending parent application for U. S. Letters Patent Serial No. 452,216 filed by Paul E. Pearson and Ralph M. Mero .on July 24, 1942, and issued October 14, 1947 as Patent No. 2,429,169.

It sometimes happens in body makers of the character stated that some obstruction will prevent proper operation of the body blank folding devices, and breakages of machine parts have resulted from such obstructions. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide in a body maker wherein are provided a horn and means for feeding body blanks to the horn, folder wings for folding the blanks about the horn to shape the can bodies, means for pivotally mounting the wings, and means for swinging the wings toward and from the horn and including a crank arm associated with each wing and composed of two sections connected by a knee joint yieldable to obstructions encountered in movement :of the side wings toward the horn and means for connecting one section of each said crank arm with the respective wing.

Another object of the invention is to provide in apparatus of the character described means including rotary cams for actuating the crank arms, and means adjustably mounting the cams so that by adjusting the positions of the cams the timing of the folding wings can be altered at will.

Another object of the invention is to provide crank arm actuating means of the character stated including an actuator arm associated with each Wing composed of two sections adjustable in angular relation to permit adjustment of the timing of the wings.

With the above and other objects in View that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the claims, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a face View and part vertical longitudinal section illustrating the blank folding wing actuating devices looking in a direction opposite that in which the blanks are fed, the folding wings being shown in the open or nonfolding position.

Figure 2 is a right end elevation illustrating the folder wing actuating devices, the crank arm operating shaft and the arch frame being shown in vertical cross section.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical cross section illustrating one of the actuator lever sets, the section being taken on the line 33 on Figure 1 Figure 4 is a .detail horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 on Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a detail fragmentary face View illustrating one of the crank arms composed of two sections connected :by a knee joint, the knee joint being shown .in the broken .or flexed condition it may assume when the connected folder wing strikes an obstruction.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the parts shown in Figure 5.

The can body blanks 5 are fed to the forming .station in the manner shown and described in the parent application hereinbefore referred to, and at the forming station shown in Figures 1 and 2 they are successively formed or shaped about the horn 6 by folder wings] which are pivoted at 8 to the supporting bracket 9 depending from the arch frame F in the manner clearly illustrated in Figure l of the .drawings.

Actuator links H) are attached at their lower ends to the folder wings 1., and each link is connected at its upper end to a crank arm generally designated l-l formed of two sections H and li pivotally connected by a knee joint l2, means generally designated I3 being provided for yieldably' holding the crank arm sections in the normal extended position illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings. It will be obvious that by swinging the crank arms 11 downwardly from the position illustrated in Figure 1, the folder Wings '7 can be swung downwardly in a manner for forming a can body blank 5 about the horn 6. Should any obstruction to the normal formation of a can body be presented, the component parts of one or both crank arms I I would be permitted to move relatively by the yielding means l3 so as to prevent breakage of parts. This yielding of the arm sections H and H about the knee joint I2 is clearly illustrated in Figure 5. It will be apparent by reference to Figures 1, 2, 5 and.

6 that the arm section I l has a depending apertured lug II adapted normally to be engaged by the angled extension H of the arm section ll when the parts are positioned as in Figure 1. The yieldable means generally designated l3 includes a stud ll which is pivoted to the extension II and slidably projects through the aperture in the adjacent lug H A compression spring H is interposed between the lug II and an abutment H on the stud H and constantly tends to hold the arm-sections H and II in the extended position shown in Figure 1.

In order to impart the desired oscillation to the crank arms H in timed relation to the other operating parts of the machine, each crank arm II is secured to a shaft l4 rockably mounted as at 15 in the arch frame F. A housing 16 is mounted upon the arch frame, and a crank arm operating shaft 11 is rotatably mounted therein in bearings Hi. The shaft 11 is driven by a bevel gear couple 19 from a vertically disposed drive shaft 20 which is rotatable in a bearing 2| and driven in any approved manner (not shown) from an operating part of the machine. Two rotary cams 22 are mounted on the shaft ll, one thereof being provided for imparting oscillatory movement to each of the crank arms ll.

Each cam 22 has an actuator groove 23.

An actuator lever 24 is fixed to each of the rock shafts l4, one said lever being disposed on one side of the housing l6 and the other at the opposite side of said housing. Each lever 24 is adjustably connected as generally indicated at 25 to a companion actuator lever 26 disposed beside the respective lever 24 and adjustably clamped as at 21 to the respective rock shaft I4. Each lever 26 carries a roller 28 which engages in the adjacent cam groove 23. The lever adjustment generally designated 25 may comprise a pair of opposed set screws 25 threadably mounted on the lever 24 and engaging at opposite sides of the stud means 25 fixed to the lever 26 and projecting through the opening 25 in the lever 24. It will be obvious that by adjusting the screws 25 the angular relation of the levers 24 and 26 and the angular relation of this composite lever 24, 26 to the associated two section arm II can be varied at will.

. Each cam 22 is adjustably clamped as at 29 to one end of a driver sleeve 30 which is pinned or otherwise secured to the shaft ll. See Figure 1. It will be obvious that the adjustable mounting of the cams 22 and the equipments 25 and 21 which enable adjustment of the angular relation of the levers 24, 26 makes it possible to vary the position and timing of the folder wings I and the actuating devices associated therewith.

While one form of the invention has been shown for purposes of illustration, it is to be clearly understood that various changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

We claim:

1. In a body maker wherein is provided a horn and means for feeding body blanks to the horn; folder wings for folding blanks about the horn to shape the can bodies, means pivotally mounting said wings, and means for swinging the wings toward and from the horn and including a crank arm associated with each wing and composed of two sections connected by a knee joint yieldable to obstructions encountered in movement of the said wings toward the horn, and means connecting one section of each said crank arm with the respective wing.

2. In a body maker wherein is provided a horn and means for feeding body blanks to the horn; folder wings for folding blanks about the horn to shape the can bodies, means pivotally mounting said wings, and means for swinging the wings toward and from the horn and including a crank arm associated with each wing, a link connecting each wing to one crank arm, a rock shaft swingably mounting each crank, an actuator arm secured to each rock shaft,'a cam shaft, two cams on said cam shaft, one said cam having driving connection with one of the actuator arms, and the other of said cams having driving connection with the other of said actuator arms each said actuator arm being composed of two sections and means for varying the angular relation of said two sections to permit adjustment of timing of the wings, and each said crank arm being composed of two sections connected by a knee joint yieldable to obstructions encountered in movement of the said wings toward the horn without disrupting the adjusted angular relation of the actuator arm sections.

PAUL E. PEARSON. RALPH M. MERO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Laxo Mar. 24, 1942 

